What A McDonald's Breakfast Looked Like In The '90s (And How Much It Cost)

It was an era of novelty gimmicks and yellow styrofoam containers. The 1990s saw the release of McDonald's Beef Wennington burger and the McJordan Special during the Chicago Bulls' decade of dominance. The '90s also saw the birth (and death) of the short-lived McLobster. Today, we're shining the spotlight on another Mickey D's fixture that's still around nearly 40 years later, more or less. It looks a little different nowadays, and costs a good deal more.

The 1990s McDonald's breakfast was an entity unto itself. Foodies could pull on their overalls, hop into wood-panneled Dodge Caravans, crank up Kriss Kross's "Jump," and make their way to Mickey D's with just $3 in their pockets for a full meal (come si dice, the good old days?). While much of the morning menu remains the same, now-retired items include frosted danishes and an institution of yore known as "Big Breakfast" or "Deluxe Breakfast." These meals came on their own yellow styrofoam trays, packing hotcakes, scrambled eggs, a sausage patty, and a biscuit $2.50. It was a fast-food version of a classic, sit-down, American diner breakfast. While a version of the "Big Breakfast" is currently on McDonald's menu, it only includes eggs, sausage, a hash brown, and a biscuit for more than double the price, while "Big Breakfast with Bacon and Hotcakes" costs even more. We propose a menu swap, and we aren't alone. A Facebook post in the "90's Nostalgia" group waxes, "McDonald's breakfast always hit better when the hotcakes were served in styrofoam and the hash browns in cardboard sliders." 

In another post in the "90's Kids Flashbacks" group, nostalgic commenters rave, "Hotcakes from McDonald's in the '90s hit different," "I miss this and the foam container," and "Where's the cream cheese danish?"

According to one '90s-era advertisement, for just $2.49 (plus tax), foodies had their choice of "extra value combo" — Egg McMuffin, Sausage N' Egg McMuffin, or Bacon 'N Egg McMuffin, plus a hash brown and a regular coffee. No comment on the fact that, adjusted for inflation, that same $2.49 in 1990 would shake out to $6.17 in 2026. Specific prices somewhat vary depending on location, but according to BreakfastMenuPrices.com, a Sausage 'N Egg McMuffin cost in the ballpark of $6.59 a la carte in 2025 — without the coffee or the hash brown.

McDonald's apparently also had a breakfast buffet. A Reddit thread in r/90s asks, "Do you remember the McD breakfast buffet, or the endless hotcake refills where you gave them back the lid and you got more hotcakes?" One commenter enthuses, "I'm from the UK and visited the US in about '94, I thought I dreamed McDonalds AYCE buffet breakfast! It seemed too good to be real when I looked back." Although, specific promotions may have varied from one Mickey D's to the next. As one commenter writes, "I don't remember that [the AYCE buffet], but our local McDonald's had a $4.99 all you can [eat] special on Tuesday nights."